


Many Will Enter, Few Will Win (v1.0)

by SuperFreakeh



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff and Humor, K-pop References, M/M, discontinued, eren is a pop star au, grumpy uncle levi, no affiliation with blaurozen's amazing kpop au!, please see version 2.0
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 04:13:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3595917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperFreakeh/pseuds/SuperFreakeh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>NOTE: Discontinued. Grab your Redbull, stash your Doritos, and hold the phones--new, up-and-coming boy band Roze Maria is having an international contest, and you're invited to enter! And who can resist staying up all night for the chance to win a meet-and-greet with the band's teal-eyed prince, Eren Jaeger? Levi, Mikasa's personal pushover uncle, certainly can't! But remember: prizes may be limited, and many will enter, few will win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Psst--I grab a lot of later scenes from Youtube series "Real Got7". I am absolutely in love with Got7, I am a since-day-one fan.  
> SNK Headcanon: Levi is a grumpy uncle type but when it comes to Mikasa he goes completely soft. Softie Grumpy Uncle Levi falls in love with the leader of a boy band, everybody!

There they were. Lips sliding and finding their mark in the mild glow of the black light. Fingers glancing and intertwining like they were meant to be. And those burning, brilliant pairs of eyes that never seemed to lose lustful intensity.

All was perfect on their side of the world. The grass was green, the water was clear. It was too bad that the sweetest loves are often the first to go. And what followed would shatter their world completely.

-o-

Levi was perhaps not the best parental figure one could conjure up but he did know when his newly-teenaged niece, Mikasa, was up to something.

A week after her birthday, she and Armin Arlert camped out in the basement for four days, barely surfacing to face the hot summer day except to check the mailbox and replenish snacks. Because she had never done anything of this sort before, Levi just let it go. She was thirteen now and he was purposely putting only the healthy snacks in her and Armin's reach.

But when the fifth day came and the clock struck 6am and Levi was awakened not by his pleasant ocean alarm but by the wails of teenage children, he knew he would have to actually be a responsible "parent" and investigate. So knowing their actions all week prior, it showed no surprise that Armin, knee-deep in food wrappers and Redbull cans, was cradling Mikasa who was now sobbing quietly. Levi, responsible and mature adult man that he is, merely rolled his eyes mentally and strode over to the mess.

Armin looked up at him, teary-eyed and confused, but before Levi could utter a word the offended niece spoke up in broken gasps and sobs. "W-we were try-hic!-ing to w-win a radio cont-test and we lo-ooost..." Her words drowned out in Armin's shoulder and Levi tried to put on a sympathetic face without much success.

"You waited all week to win a contest?" Nods from the children.

Armin gulped and said, "The first caller at certain hours would win. Today was the last day so we waited up all night and s-still di-dn't get it." He looked close to Niagara Falls so Levi stepped in again.

"Hey, calm down you guys," Levi offered uncertainly. "I'm sure the prize wasn't even worth losing sleep over anyway. It's just a--"

"You don't understand!" Mikasa suddenly burst out. "The prize was the greatest Grail ever to be offered on radio..."

And together, she and Armin recited the radio’s creed that had captured them and their sleep for a full five days: "A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a week with band 'Roze Maria' in L.A.! Get there on your private jet filled with cool RM gear; get ready for the pre-party with your own personal stylist and rock out with the members during a VIP-only celebration of their very first album release! Then relax and spend the rest of the week cruising in your luxury vehicle of choice and go shopping with the band. At the end of the week, treat yourself to front-row seats to their tour-kickoff concert! It's only available to you, listeners, so call in at--"

Here, Levi cut them off.

"You know that nobody really wins these things, right?" The friends stared up at him in shock. "I mean, they offer this contest to people around the globe. Nobody from our town could possibly win--"

"But at 6:30 they said they had a winner."

Now Levi was shocked. Really, a radio station would give out this giant prize to a few country kids? The price tag on that prize must be enormous. Curiosity getting to him, he asked, "So who won?"

Armin and Mikasa furrowed their brows and Armin only mumbled, "Some kids named Sasha Blah-blah and Conner So-what. It wasn't us."

"Tch. Too bad, guys." The kids kept grumbling. Levi felt bad but figured it was best to leave the adult disappointments to nature rather than him doing it to them himself. He was about to walk away from the whole thing, about to make some cold sweet tea to cheer them up, when a thought struck. Sasha Blah...Sasha Blouse? And Connie Springer? He knew those kids, had encouraged Mikasa to play with them, and he knew their parents. And knowing Mr. Blouse and Ms. Springer, two close friends who were more like their children than they would admit, they had squeezed out some extra tickets to the week-long getaway for the sake of "work" or something.

Point is, Mikasa and Armin might not have anything to cry over if Levi's next couple phone calls went well.

It was decided. Hurriedly, he exclaimed, "You kids go upstairs and find the tea and Girl Scout cookies. I'll be right up--oh, and leave that phone down here!" He ushered them up the stairs and with confused looks on their faces, they shrugged and complied, the majority of the grieving process over.

Levi rubbed his hands together and struck the keypad of the old home phone. "Hello, Sue. Yeah, it's been a while since coffee. Yep, Mikasa is still...herself. Um...nope. No, I'm still free. Yeah. Say, I have a quick question about this contest I heard about on the radio, and I was wondering..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ==> Levi, activate Fanboy mode!

Forty-five minutes later, one regrettable acceptance to go fishing and one even more regrettable acceptance to go on a blind date with Connie's old babysitter later, Levi had two tickets for Mikasa and Armin and even a surprising one for himself, after being told by both adults that he “didn’t get out enough”. So after presenting the rewards of battle and after living through a childish scream so loud he feared for neighborhood noise violations, Levi decided to do some research on whom, exactly, they were meeting.

It was apparent from the first click of "I'm feeling lucky" that one was the star. Blazing, intense eyes and long, dark lashes framing them struck him like a bolt of lightning. _That one_ was an absolute gem: slim hips and boyish good looks, the young star seemed to throw his charisma wherever he pleased in every photo shoot, every video. The farther Levi looked, the harder he fell. What was this god doing on Earth?

And in a random click to the band’s homemade reality show, “Real Roze Maria”, he saw the beautiful chemistry between the boys, each attractive in their own right, but most spectacular were the leader’s moments of bashfulness and extroversion and silliness and flirtation. This boy was too much, too versatile for Levi to keep these thoughts only in his head.

“Holy shit.”

He said that out loud and knew this trip was going to be more difficult than rounding up adolescents at a concert, and that was a struggle in itself. He would have to hold himself back.

His fingers scurried frantically across the keys and navigated to the band Wiki page. It was easy finding the angel-on-Earth’s profile and Levi unwittingly committed every detail to memory.

The boy’s name was Eren Jaeger. He was twenty-one years old and had been in the spotlight playing various roles in cinema and television since he was fifteen. Though in his younger pictures of his teen days he looked nervous and unsettled, he eased into the role of music heartthrob soon enough and was looking downright edible by twenty.

A few more clicks and Levi read about the other members and their fan-given nicknames: Gorgeous Heir Jean Kirstein, Delectable Angel Marco Bodt, Sexy Rebel Reiner Braun, Precious Brother Bertholdt Fubar, and of course, Wild Prince Eren Jaeger.

The nickname fit all of them, obviously. Levi hadn’t realized that in skimming several episodes of the reality show he’d caught on to their personalities and had to agree that although Eren was a distant celebrity surrounded by bitches and swag all the time, he was also nothing other than a Wild Prince.

Levi was interrupted from starting a rated R roleplay in his head when Mikasa called down for her uncle. Apparently, reading every article available online, even if just on one person, took up more than a couple hours. He sighed audibly and rose from his desk with crackling joints, putting Eren to the back of his mind for now.

“I’ll be right up, Mikasa!” Damn shame that he couldn’t concentrate on the starry-eyed prince because of his duties as a guardian. Then again, he told himself, disappointment was the main game in the tragedy called middle age.

At least there was only a month until their trip. Just thirty days to get his act together and hopefully be good enough for the stupid, sexy, untamed Prince’s liking.

It was no longer a matter of giving Mikasa and Armin the fan-fueled vacation of their lives; Levi was bringing that man home with him, dammit.

He won’t settle for less than His Royal Highness. After all, Levi used to be quite the womanizer in his younger days, who’s to say Eren Jaeger couldn’t fall for him too?

A secret feeling of self-consciousness and uncertainty settled in his gut but he chose to ignore it. Confidence was sexy. _He_ was sexy. Or at least, he was in that he had a stable job and had a decent credit score.

Just thirty days until Judgement Day. The band would love Armin and Mikasa of course, but what about Levi?

Thirty days of preparation and only seven to make an impression and grab a phone number of two. He’d become addicted to the band so easily, and it was likely his heart would be broken as such. The only logical solution was pushing down every possible emotion until the trip was over. Trying to flirt would land him in jail, so he would content himself with staring from afar in a pair of well-shaded sunglasses.

Thirty days. In twelve hours the clock would strike midnight and he would only have twenty-nine days left.

Mikasa and Armin called out his name once again and guilt entered his every being. This wasn’t about finding the next eligible bachelor for the position of baby daddy. This was for the niece he loved dearly and her brilliant best friend, and no one else.

No one cared about a man past thirty-five and way past his prime. He bemoaned the curses of middle age once more and steeled himself to face his new rivals (no—do not call them that!) and offer up a wholesome lunch.

On the outside he was still grouchy Uncle Levi who was obsessed with cleanliness and the skyrocketing price of organic foods, but on the inside was a scared teenager fearing for the state of his heart once more. His life was always about protecting someone else and still was with this magnificent opportunity.

What about me? What about Levi? What about me?

Didn’t he deserve such happiness? Didn’t he deserve a chance at near-hopeless love like every other boy?

For once, what about Levi?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shirsdaitjfaslt I'm surprised how many people actually like this idea... Well I like it too, so I'll be continuing it for good! But I apologize for this particular chapter, I really don't like the end. Expect edits sometime soon. And thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Thirty days passed and with the days flying by and the work piling up and the sleep running out, Levi was drained to the point where his young companions had to keep him upright at the airport. It was not until he was sitting uncomfortably in his airline seat that he reluctantly let his eyelids fall over weary eyes and drift off to sleep.

While Mikasa and Armin traded something-or-other on their Nintendo DS’s, Levi dreamt of Eren.

In the six hour flight, Levi had managed to dream up a whole stock of cringe-worthy romantic escapades: the one about the coffee shop AU, the high-school dropout scene, even the clichéd sexy plumber act. He woke up in agony to turbulence and a voice calling for only thirty more minutes of flight.

Rubbing his eyes of the worst of the under-eye bags, he noticed with a weary smile that Mikasa and Armin were curled into each other, sleeping peacefully next to him. He gave the small girl a pet on her head while she slept and saw her nuzzle closer to her friend; it was times like these that he was almost content with the way life had played out for him.

Drawing his attention rather reluctantly to the bile-inducing dreams, he tried to do the adult thing and Forgive and Forget.

To no avail.

Step one was to try to forgive Eren Jaeger for having such deliciously tanned skin and vibrant, exotic eyes, as well as a smooth voice and charming laugh. Step two was to forget all about him.

Levi had a feeling neither would bring any change and so resolved to do the second-most adult thing: stalk the idol on iTunes and empty your bank account. Of course, he budgeted for these things—although admittedly, he had always thought it would be for Mikasa—and settled back for the remainder of the trip with lyrics that ranged from melodic and calming to downright dirty.

No one could say the band wasn’t versatile, at least.

He dozed off in a galaxy of depth and light and color.

_If you’ll be my star_

_I’ll be your sky_

_You can hide underneath me and come out at night_

_When I turn jet black_

_And you show off your light_

_I live to let you shine_

_I live to let you shine…_

-o-

The next time Levi was mentally “with it” was when he blinked at the sudden realization that he was currently enveloped in someone’s tense, and slightly squishy, embrace. Armin pulled at his sleeve and he gaped with open eyes as the person in front of him took a step back and wiped a tear from their eye.

“Oh, I’m just so happy to meet our winners! This rarely ever happens, you know!” they prattled.

Levi’s eyes narrowed as he tried simultaneously to remember the events prior to this meeting and look as menacing as possible in the presence of this stranger.

“Pardon me, but who are you?”

Mikasa had the answer: “Uncle, she’s—”

“I’m your tour guide!” the woman exclaimed. “For the whole week.” She nodded. “Yep, I just got my driver’s license this morning, and I was telling the kids here—”

“Okay, stop right there,” Levi interjected abruptly. “You just got your license?”

“Hell yeah.” She looked excitedly towards the kids for affirmation, although Mikasa remained passive and Armin seemed to be permanently dumbfounded.

“So in what ways are you qualified to lead us on this ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’?” asked Levi with no shortage of snark and air-quotes.

The woman looked lost for a moment. _Got ya,_ thought Levi.

“Easy!” Levi mentally hit himself. “I’m the boys’ manager! Or, one of them, at least. Erwin’s got the other hand in this deck.”

“Erwin…?”

“There’s a lot of people involved in a famous boy band,” she said matter-of-factly.

“So I should expect more horrendous social interaction in the next week, am I right?”

“How right you are,” came a deep voice from behind.

Levi didn’t even bother to mentally hit himself; he full-on gave his forehead a mark in the shape of his palm.

“And who the hell are you?”

The man spoke to the woman. “Cool it, Hanji. These guys are VIP. You know what that means, don’t you?”

The woman, Hanji, made vague hand motions. “Yeah, yeah. You know, I’m the one with the PhD, not you.” She stuck out her tongue and Levi got the feeling that the man wanted to facepalm himself, too.

Instead, the man held out his hand to Levi and introduced himself. “Hannes, visitor coordinator. This is Hanji, co-manager of Roze Maria. We congratulate you all and look forward to a great week.” He bowed slightly and then suddenly seemed to shed off the formal exterior. With a grin and a gleam in his eye, he stooped down to shake Mikasa’s hand. “Now, who’s your favorite member of our beloved RM?”

Keeping a steady gaze, her answer was obvious. “Eren is my prince,” she responded resolutely.

“Ah, the fan favorite! And you, little man?”

Armin, still a tad shell-shocked from the experience, stammered out a, “M-marco. He’s an angel…”

“Haha! Of course he is! Alright, so you, old man, who’s your favorite?”

Levi twitched slightly at being called “old man” and sighed, only responding, “I have no interest in children’s music.”

Hanji clapped him on the back, adjusting her glasses and smiling up at Hannes. “Well, we’ll soon change _that_! You’re all meeting the band tonight at dinner.”

Hannes looked back at Mikasa and Armin. “The prince and the angel will be waiting for you,” he said gravely. Levi lightly hit him on the arm, a signal to “quit fucking up my kids”.

The kids, meanwhile, looked like they would follow a doomed lemming if it meant getting to meet their idols. “Now look what you’ve done,” Levi grumbled.

“Sorry, what?” asked Hanji.

He shook off her grip on his shoulder and said too loudly, “I _said_ that there’s a lot of work to be done. We can’t go to dinner looking like we came off the plane from Illinois.” Which, they technically did.

“Right again, you are!” Hannes snapped his fingers and Hanji grabbed the kids’ little hands.

“It’s time for a shopping trip!” Hanji declared.

“No, oh no that’s not what I meant—please don’t make me—” Levi struggled but, as one might guess, to no avail.

As he and the children were pushed past sliding doors and into a shining limousine he attempted to argue once more.

“You can’t take the kids—For God’s sake, listen to me! I mean, we didn’t bring that kind of money—”

“Not a problem, mister; no need to be all shook up,” Hannes responded, settling familiarly into the limo.

“Yeah, if you’ll remember, your prize comes with a seven-thousand dollar VISA card,” Hanji quipped.

Levi shook his head in disbelief and looked over to see the look in Mikasa’s and Armin’s faces which were seemingly filled with stardust and money signs.

Armin, having apparently gotten used to the strangers, poked Levi gently and whispered, “ _Please_ , Uncle Levi! Mika and I wanna go shopping…”

How could he say no to that face. Finally, he caved.

“Alright, how much did you say we can spend?”

Everyone in the car looked around with elated expressions.

“Not enough!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics from “Boats and Birds” by Gregory and the Hawk


	4. Chapter 4

Levi stood outside of glowing blue glass doors, watching as his kids, recently clothed in luxury brands, were delicately escorted inside by Hannes and Hanji, who were similarly dressed in luxury formalwear.

He nervously adjusted the black sheer tie chosen for him and tugged on the crisp cuffs of his suit. Was he overdressed? Underdressed? It didn’t really matter what the rest of the restaurant thought of him; he was waiting out here because Eren Jaeger was just behind those doors, presumably leaning casually against a bombshell babe with a Cuban cigar in one hand and a diet Martini in the other.

And Levi was meanwhile resisting the urge to check his Blackberry for work messages and wiping his brow for imaginary sweat that crept up every time he thought about encountering Eren, which—due to the circumstance—was nearly unavoidable and was causing him to almost quake.

It wasn’t until Hanji poked her head outside and spotted him, waving him inside, that he steeled himself for the worst and resolved to deal with the reality head-on.

Escorting him to their private room, Levi saw with some comfort that Armin and Mikasa were enraptured, sitting on the table (which Levi disapproved of) and talking with their idols. Marco, truly possessing an angelic quality around him, was holding Armin’s hands and listening to the child jabber on, while Mikasa sat silent and completely absorbed in Eren’s boyish chatter. The other boys joined in, making jokes and quarreling with the managers, but that was of no importance to Levi at the moment.

Oh shit. That’s his niece that’s sitting on a table in front of Eren Jaeger. _Oh shit._

The moment Hanji walked in was the moment Levi’s life fell apart.

All eyes were on them.

Greetings to Hanji abounded and she blushed before pushing forward Levi ever closer to his doom. He was sat down and given a special menu; hands came out of nowhere to shake his shoulder in greeting or grasp his hand. All he could do in the blur of motion was nod and pretend like he heard the individuals over the clamor of noisy family dinner conversation.

The noise died down slightly when a waiter came out to take the order; Levi ended up delegating his ordering responsibilities to Hanji so he could lean back in his seat and take it all in. This was the celebrity scene. These people he’s only ever seen on a screen or in the papers were just on the other side of a table. Dreams were slowly and eerily converging with reality.

After ordering, Eren and Marco set the children down. “Alrighty, Mika, time to go back to your mom,” Eren said gently as he nudged her towards Hanji.

“Oh, whoa there, kid! This little one’s not mine,” the woman retaliated.

All she got was a look of confusion. “I thought she was yours…? Or Hannes?”

“Nope. Wrong again,” Hannes grunted, although he, too, nudged Mikasa playfully.

The little girl tottered over to Levi who scooped her up and set her on his lap (because she and Armin were little ladies and ladies do not sit on banquet tables, dammit). Eren looked surprisingly up at Levi, seemingly noticing him for the first time. “Oh, so you’re…” his voice died out. There was awe written all over his starry gaze.

Levi looked on coldly. “Just the uncle.” He took a sip of water and nearly rolled his eyes. “Obviously,” he muttered and a part of him hated the taste of bitterness in his mouth as he said it. He willed himself to act normal around his celebrity crush and managed to convince himself that his chest was not bursting nor was he purposefully avoiding meeting Eren’s eyes. But Mikasa could feel his accelerated heartbeat and the glass covered the worst of his blush.

Levi collected Armin from another personnel (an employee, a parent, a manager?) and gave him over to Hanji, who thoroughly enjoyed bouncing the boy senseless on her knee.

Eren looked uncomfortable and Jean elbowed him. “Ah, yeah, of course. Obviously.” The dinner table got dangerously quiet and was saved by the timely arrival of a line of waiters setting impressive dishes in front of each guest. The boys’ eyes widened—a normal young male response—at the sight of food. Levi noticed Hannes picking apart his meal, separating the vegetables (and feeding them to Armin) and Hanji digging in with a vigor that contrasted her elegant appearance. The boys acted like, well, boys, and Levi saw more than a few nasty glares to them from the other adults at the table.

The rest of the tension eased off like satin on skin and dissolved into rambunctious dinner talk. The vibe given off truly felt like a family and even Levi was able to loosen up after a conservative glass of white wine. He fell into conversation with Hanji over the nation’s military and was greatly surprised when she came back with passionate talking points.

They spent almost two hours at the restaurant and the children were getting noticeably droopier, their eyelids fighting to stay alert. Hannes subtly budged into the intense conversation between fast friends (or in Levi’s mind, allies) Hanji and Levi to suggest that the man entrust the kids to an on-staff nanny that would take care of them while everyone else got to have a little “grown-up fun”.

Levi frowned the slightest bit. He was physically tired, though invigorated from talking with Hanji. And “grown-up fun” almost always meant an embarrassing night that he wished he didn’t remember. But the woman to his left seemed enthusiastic, as did Hannes and a few others that he had taken to calling “chaperones” in light of the boys’ juvenility. He raised a brow warily. “Where would we be going?”

Hanji shrugged. “It’s up to them, mostly,” she said as she indicated the group of guys across from them. They were finishing off their drinks and ogling something interesting on Reiner’s phone. Bert was noticeably looking away.

Levi sighed. His brain was a little foggy at the moment and the kids would probably be alright with a professional nanny. Besides, maybe it was an opportunity for him to “treat yo self” and maybe it held the possibility of him seeing the fantastically slutty drunk Eren he had imagined up in the last minute.

God damn his lack of restraint around this boy. It was fortunate that he was sitting well away from Levi’s legs which were prone to kicking, and his stare, which was boring a hole into the boy as he laughed loudly at the content on Reiner’s phone and was shoved around by Jean for being the nuisance.

“Oh, what the hell,” Levi stated, and again all eyes—in various stages of bleariness—were on him. “Let’s go!” and he did a seriously un-Levi-like thing and raised his glass high before downing it in one go.

Cheers and shouts were raised as the band made their decision: “To The Dive!”

Levi finally let loose and saw Mikasa and Armin being carried by a giant, tattooed man whose muscle shirt read “Nanny” on the back. He just giggled and shot Eren a heated glance before following the rowdy crowd pushing into the limos to The Dive.

Eren was the last to leave, pulled by a remarkably-sober Hanji, and upon reading the questioning look on her face averted his face and jogged ahead, hoping and praying that the maroon on his cheeks—the deep scarlet blush that had teetered on edge all night and that had finally manifested itself thanks to that last glance from Levi—would quickly disappear.

The Wild Prince had found himself instantly starstruck with the dark, on-edge man and he didn’t know why, though he knew why he could not allow himself to fall for him.

Eren Jaeger was not allowed to fall in love. Not according to his contract that bound him more tightly than the others, that pushed him to the limits of human exhaustion and tested his capacity for morality.

No, he was allowed many luxuries that came with being a music idol, but falling in love? There were consequences for that; he had it in writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that Mikasa and Armin seem to be getting younger as this goes on...they're acting like toddlers now. Do toddlers listen to kpop? Can they even talk? I'm really sorry...!


	5. Chapter 5-ish and IMPORTANT NOTE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like how I've written this thing so far. It's short but so far unsatisfactory. I really like this idea though and I told y'all I would continue with it, so since I have a policy to never delete any of my writing ever (seriously, I have the fanfic equivalent of bloopers and outtakes on my laptop here from years ago) I'll keep this up with a link to the new and improved "Many Will Enter". I hope y'all are okay with my decision; it's gonna be a better storyline for everyone, and way better executed.  
> So here's the rest that I had written up for "Many Will Enter 1.0". Please look forward to the new "2.0"!  
> Chill,  
> SF

The Dive was a bar lit only by far-off neon lamps and the occasional glare of a sidewall mirror. Sweaty bodies accompanied the taste of salt and acidity, and the clamor of drunken laughter rang in muted tones behind the pounding electric bass.

People didn’t come here to have a nice evening. They came to forget why they even came.

Shocked by the intense atmosphere, Levi was pulled from his reverie by Hannes who thrust a glowing shot glass in his hand and waited expectantly for him to chug. Levi grinned as the blazing liquid seared his throat all the way down and raised his fist in a whoop. The others spread out while he was pushed into the grinding crowd on the dance floor, his hand always somehow managing to find a drink and his hips somehow managing to find Hanji’s. It was not his most dignified night, but fuck it.

He was an adult; he could do whatever the fuck he liked.

Grinding on Hanji, he hardly noticed a pair of blazing turquoise eyes darting to and fro along the floor. The Wild Prince swept his gaze from a thoroughly-hammered Levi, unconscious of his own actions, to the rest of Roze Maria, who were clumped together for the most part and enjoying the night one risqué dance move at a time. Normally he would join in the celebration and socialize a little; it truly was rare to meet fans this closely and to have the fanfare be this big. But tonight he was in no mood, the words of his manager and his own hurtful thoughts plaguing him, slowing him to a dangerous crawl.

-o-

_“It’s official now. We’ll do our best to make you a star, Eren.”_

_“Of course, sir.”_

_“…You’re not a new face to the media, are you?”_

_He shivered uncomfortably, reluctant to answer. “No, sir.”_

_“Then I trust you know some of what it takes to make it in this industry.”_

_His blood ran cold. Icy fingernails ran their way down his spine. What was happening? What was real?_

_He gulped, replied. “I do.”_

_Firm palms gripped his hair and came to stroke his head a little too roughly. “Wonderful. It seems you’re on your way to becoming our frontrunner in entertainment, Eren.”_

_The man looked to him for a nod of agreement. Stumbling over his tongue and choking on his breath, he finally gave his assent._

_“Good. Then entertain me.”_

_His own Hell started now._

-o- 

The memories were not so old, though he wished they would age and rot already. With a heart chilled by the sinking feeling of past regrets, he turned his sight away from Levi and sank into a dark corner. From there, he huddled and mentally curled in on himself; he tried to not think of the fun his friends were having and the horrid contrast with his own situation, but the more he made attempts to ignore the more forceful the ugly reminders came.

He genuinely loved and appreciated and respected all of his friends, his band members, but every one of them had a silent recognition of Eren’s different circumstances. So though they would meander off and play, they would never be able to do so with complete innocence, and looking back like Orpheus into the Underworld they would doom themselves to another bout of painful reminder.

As his thoughts swirled into black negativity he mumbled aloud soothing words he had created long ago when his passion for music was still innocent.

_I'll pray that one day you see_  
 _The only difference between life and dying_  
 _Is one is trying, that's all we're called to do_  
 _So try to love me and I'll try to save you._  


Hands clasped tightly over his head, he willed the words to work their magic, and it seemed to him that only his own desperate whispers resounded in that room.

  
_Won't you stay alive_  
 _I'll take you on a ride_  
 _I will make you believe you are lovely._

_(“Lovely” by Twenty One Pilots)_

-o- 

Levi found him an hour later.

Hands trembling and grin twitching from the euphoria of the thumping atmosphere, he at first didn’t recognize the shadow struggling to make its way from the corner to the emergency exit.

His good mood faltered fast. Worry lines making their way up his forehead, he diverged from his original destination to investigate. He was about five feet away from the boy when he tried to reach out.

“Eren? Are you—”

He was surprised to feel a force pushing his hand away. Through a crack in the curtain of untamed chestnut hair he could see brilliant eyes that were hurting. Eren’s movements were staggered and he looked to be out of breath

_shit that’s an anxiety attack if I ever saw one_

though he still attempted to stand to his full, proud height. A hoarse voice responded, “I’m going home, Levi.”

Levi frowned and this time took the boy’s arm without any repercussions. “Not in the state you’re in, you’re not.”

Eren’s eyes widened to alertness in that moment and seemed to take on a new look of terror. When his panicked gaze fell on Levi again, his voice was desperate. “No, Levi, I _have_ to go home!”

Now this was just downright fishy. A couple hours ago, the kid had been fine. Now it looked like he’d been put through a whole Maury Povich-season’s worth of emotions. When a look of sober resolution appeared in Levi’s own steely eyes Eren tensed and began to pull away, tears forming in his eyes.

“You don’t get it! I can’t stay here and…I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Tears flowed like water from a well.

“Look at me, Eren”, Levi tried in his most gentle voice. “Calm yourself. Take my hands.” Tossing a lukewarm drink in his hand, he gathered Eren’s sweaty palms and though his worry over the boy only escalated, his exterior was completely unfazed. “Now tell me..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything you want to see happen to this unlikely pair? Comment or drop me a message. "MWE 2.0" is currently in production, so now's your chance to see your headcanons come true!


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